


Hey Steven

by ralsbecket



Series: it comes and goes in waves [1]
Category: Agents of Atlas, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - No Powers, F/M, Filipino Character, Fluff and Humor, Meet-Cute, Minor Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Protective Steve Rogers, Song: Hey Stephen (Taylor Swift), Taking care of your drunk friends, Tony Stark Does What He Wants, Underage Drinking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-08
Updated: 2020-07-08
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:47:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,344
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24677902
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ralsbecket/pseuds/ralsbecket
Summary: Love Writing Challenge - Day 1: Meet Cute-Most people drowned themselves with alcohol at college parties, but one look into Steve's ocean-blue eyes and Pearl was ready to drown in them too.
Relationships: Pearl Pangan & Tony Stark, Pearl Pangan/Steve Rogers
Series: it comes and goes in waves [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1784266
Comments: 4
Kudos: 3





	Hey Steven

**Author's Note:**

> “’Cause I can't help it if you look like an angel  
> Can't help it if I wanna kiss you in the rain, so  
> Come feel this magic I've been feeling since I met you  
> Can't help it if there's no one else”  
> \- Taylor Swift, _Hey, Stephen_
> 
> A/N: Rated T because of underage drinking and (mild) cursing. It took so long for me to actually get this out that it's past Steve's birthday, so God Bless America's Ass. This one's a little different from my other fics, and the first time I've written for Pearl, so be gentle lol

“Goddammit, Rhodey, why’d you have to park so _far_?” Pearl glared at the back of his head, adjusting her hold on the case of water bottles in her hands. She could already feel her arms and shoulder muscles burning, the plastic biting into her fingers. _I need to work out more_ , she thought dismissively.

“You never park near the party, Pearl. That’s easily Rule Number One,” he answered sagely. Rhodey held two twelve-packs in his hands and a family-size bag of chips tucked under his arm. He threw her a look over his shoulder, shaking his head.

From down the block, the Filipina could hear the bumping music coming from the house party, multiple voices emanating from the backyard. She huffed, speeding up a bit to match his brisk pace. A corner of Pearl’s mouth turned up in a smirk as she teased, “Is being almost two hours late to a party Rule Number Two, or something?”

Rhodey rolled his eyes so hard that she wondered if the bastard saw his brain. “We wouldn’t be late if the guys hadn’t forgotten to grab waters.”

“What? But you –” Pearl puffed slightly as she unceremoniously dropped the case on the ground, needing a break. Rhodey stopped walking. “Dude, you spent half an hour picking out what alcohol bring, and you got _White Claws_.”

“You only say that to be trendy,” Rhodey jibed, turning on his heel and continuing forward, missing the obscene middle finger that she held up in his direction.

When Rhodey and Pearl entered through the front door of Natasha’s house, they were met with scattered applause and weak cheers. Someone had turned on the multi-color disco lights in place of the fluorescents. Music bounced off the walls, much louder than it was from outside, which was just noise to her ears. There were a couple people that she recognized instantly, but the majority of the partiers in the living room were complete randos.

Rhodey pushed past the crowd with Pearl following his lead, greeting friends and nodding along to the beat. Suddenly, someone was grabbing the case of waters from her, pointing out, “You look like you’re about to pass out.”

Her arms felt incredibly light as blood rushed back to her limbs, having been relieved of the weight. Regardless, Pearl willed herself to pull Natasha into a hug after she set the case onto the kitchen counter. “My hero!” she cried, laughing when the redhead pinched her side.

A sound like a snort came from her nose. Natasha replied, scrutinizing both her and Rhodey, “About time you guys showed.”

Pearl raised her hands defensively. “Hey, don’t look at me. All blame lands on Rhodes.”

“Oh, suck a dick, Pangan,” Rhodey shot at her. He stuck a tongue out childishly, swiping a can of White Claw. Before Pearl could even think of a proper response, he was weaving in between sweaty bodies and out of sight.

Natasha chuckled, stabbing the case of water with her finger before fully ripping it open. She grabbed a bottle, handed it to Pearl, and then took another for herself. “You drinking tonight?” she asked nonchalantly.

Pearl’s eyes scanned the house and its occupants. Anxiety bubbled in her stomach. As much as she felt deserving of a few shots after the absolute _shit_ week she’d just had, the brunette didn’t feel comfortable losing her inhibitions around strangers. “I think I’ll DD for Rhodey, if he needs it,” Pearl answered lamely. Turning back to Natasha she asked, “Are the others still here?”

“Some of them, yeah. Thor and Phil were playing beer pong last I saw; Maria and Clint are somewhere out back with Tony.” Natasha took a few gulps of water, exhaling after. “Just let me know if you need anyth –”

Their attention was drawn to the sliding glass door leading to the backyard, forcefully shoved open by two figures stumbling through the threshold. In the darkened environment, Pearl could easily recognize Tony’s baby-face even without his drunk babbling. A tall blond had a hold on him, leading him through the house, likely in search of the toilets. Pearl heard Tony slurring out something like “I’m fine, Steve, _I’m fine_ , it was only fifteen shots” while they maneuvered around people and down the hallway. She exchanged a look with Natasha before following after them, catching up as they entered the bathroom.

“Tony –”

“Uh, we’re good here.” It was the blond who answered. “I don’t think he’d want an audience watching –”

Pearl had just barely shoved her foot between the door and the trim to hold it open, pushing back on it slightly. “Just let me _in_. Is he okay?” she pressed, concern dripping from her words.

The blond turned to the small crack in the door to probably tell her to rightfully _fuck off_ , but when his gaze fell on her the words seemed to have been lost somewhere between his brain and his mouth. Her brown eyes connected with his blue ones, and _wow, I never knew someone’s eyes could look so much like the ocean_. It sent a blush creeping up to her cheeks.

“Izzat Pearl? Steve. Move your ass, Steve. Oh, my gah – hi, Pearly, I’m glad you –” And just like that, Tony was heaving out the contents of his stomach right into the toilet.

The door opened enough to let her in, and after sharing a sheepish smile with the blond, Pearl kneeled at Tony’s side, setting down the water bottle on the counter before going to rub his back. She looked up at the blond – Steve? _Steve_ – and fought the butterflies in her stomach because _God, he was cute._ The girl asked, clearing her throat, “Did he say he had fifteen shots?”

He crossed his arms over his chest as he leaned back against the now closed door. Steve worried his bottom lip before answering, “Probably closer to eight, but I saw him chugging some of that jungle juice someone threw together like he was a man dying of thirst.”

“That’s it?”

“That was just in the last _hour_ ,” Steve snorted loudly.

A sound of disdain originated from Pearl’s chest, and she frowned at Tony even if he couldn’t see her face. “You know you’re a lightweight, dumbass!” she targeted at him.

“No, I’m not!” It was the brunet’s petulant whine that echoed into the toilet bowl, and Pearl noticed Steve stifle a laugh behind his hand. Tony’s pout could be heard as he said, “I can – I can easily drink _all_ of you under the table.”

“Oh yeah, punk?” Pearl challenged, leaning over him to flush the toilet. “If you’re so _not_ a lightweight, why are we sitting on the floor in Nat’s bathroom?”

To the beat of _Smack a Bitch_ , he huffed out, “I don’t need your opin _ion_.” Tony reached blindly for the roll holder, ripping at the perforated toilet paper to wipe his mouth. Pearl didn’t bother hiding her smug expression when he turned to glare at her. “Do what I _fuckin’_ want.”

“Alright, Rico Nasty,” Steve mused, reaching for the water bottle and screwing off the cap. He passed it to Tony who only briefly gave him a dirty look before he took it. “If you start rapping about Audis, I am leaving.”

Pearl laughed at that, stealing a glance at Steve to find him smiling back at her. The smile fell from her face when she noticed Tony’s expression crumple, a deep frown tugging at his lips. When tears started forming in his eyes, she knew that Steve must have _somehow_ hit a nerve. Softly, she asked, “Hey, you okay?”

All Tony said was, “Pepper left.”

“What?”

He pulled at the hem of his shirt, pulling it up to cover his eyes and letting out a muffled wail. “Pepper left earlier, and I didn’t want to, and she” – Tony’s voice broke as he tried to get the words out, shifting to sit upright on the bathroom floor – _oh, there it goes, now he’s crying_ – “she probably thinks I’m a dirty _whore_.”

Pearl was so caught off-guard by the emotional whiplash that she took a second before comforting her friend, letting him fall into her side as he cried it out. Where did that even come from?

“Hey, no, she’d never think you were a whore, Tones.” She looked up at Steve; the look of absolute confusion that he wore was probably mirrored on her face. “Did they break up?” the Filipina hissed out disbelievingly, eyes going wide.

“I don’t… think so?” Steve’s answer came out as more of a question than anything. He ran a hand over his short-cropped hair, thinking aloud, “They seemed okay when she headed out earlier, just seemed like she wasn’t in the mood for a party.”

It took a few minutes for Tony to stop crying and for Pearl to convince him that it was probably time to go home. When the trio stepped out of the bathroom, with Tony sandwiched between both her and Steve as they held him up, there were at least five people waiting in the hall to use it.

Clint pushed off of the wall when he spotted them, almost surprised. “Holy shit, Stark, you look like hell,” he said as they shuffled past.

Tony was coherent enough to spout out a half-hearted “Fuck off, Barton” before Pearl clicked her tongue at him disapprovingly. Steve was able to lead their tangle of limbs to the mostly unoccupied couch, depositing Tony onto the cushions. He dropped like a sack of potatoes, taking Pearl down with him. She struggled a bit to loosen his grip around her neck, huffing as she straightened up in her seat.

While Steve ducked out of the front door to get his car, Pearl texted Pepper using Tony’s phone, letting her know to expect her boyfriend home sooner rather than later. At some point, Clint had helped her to all but drag their drunk friend through the door and down the driveway when the blond parked in front.

Pearl wrestled the seatbelt across Tony’s lap in the backseat before hopping into the passenger side, catching a surprised look from the driver. “What’s with the face?” she questioned, blinking at Steve as her belt clicked in place.

“I wasn’t expecting you to come,” he said meekly.

“You didn’t think I’d leave you to deal with Tony’s drunk ass alone, did you?” she teased.

“ _Hurtful_ ,” muttered the one in question. He lifted his head enough to give a soft glare at the both of them. “Tony’s drunk ass can still hear, y’know.”

Steve turned back to grin at his friend. A tingle rippled underneath her skin when his smile reached his eyes, and Pearl faced forward before he could see the flush of her cheeks. _Get a grip, Pearl_.

As they exited the neighborhood and reached the main road, she turned her body to look at Tony in the backseat, whose forehead was pressed up against the cool glass window. For lack of better term, he looked like a _zombie_. To Steve, she suggested, “We should probably get some food in him.”

The two of them fell into an easy conversation through the duration of the drive, pausing only to bicker about who’d pay for the orders of greasy burgers and fries when Steve went through a fast-food drive-thru (which he won, ultimately, playfully swatting away Pearl’s hands as she tried to lean over him to give her credit card to the cashier at the window). She had to admit, it was rare for her to immediately get comfortable with a stranger; a little scary too, because she just met Steve an hour ago, but Tony trusted him.

The thought abated her unease a little.

Pepper was more than apologetic when Pearl and Steve got to their apartment with her boyfriend in tow. The brunet was a little less drunk now, having eaten actual food to soak up all the alcohol in his stomach, but felt so tired that he pressed a firm kiss to the redhead’s temple and staggered his way to the bedroom. Tony managed a brief “I appreciate you guys” over his shoulder. Steve was quiet as they watched him shut the door behind him, looking slightly concerned, and it made Pearl smile besides herself.

Steve and Pearl returned to his car in silence. The atmosphere was thick around them, slightly awkward now that Tony wasn’t there to be a backseat buffer. Pearl kept her gaze at her feet as she walked, watching the blond from the corner of her eye as he fidgeted around with the cellphone in his hand. When they reached his parking spot, Steve abruptly planted his feet in the dirt, typing out something hurriedly.

“Nat says the party got shut down,” he relayed, not even looking up to see if she was listening. A crease formed between his eyebrows.

“Oh. Well. Shit.” She had been at the party for all of – what, half an hour? Pearl took in the news, realizing the rest of her night was a bust too. But at least Rhodey had dragged her out even for a little bit; there was no doubt that she’d be fast asleep in her bed otherwise.

Steve angled his head up then, his face neutral. “Do you want follow them to the diner? I know we just ate, but… I mean, I could take you home too. It’s whatever.”

Pearl drummed her fingers against her leg, considering her options. Quite frankly, she didn’t have the social energy left to be around people, but she was wide awake and didn’t just want to go back to her apartment. Not to mention, there was also a small part of her brain that wanted to keep her present company.

“Do you want to get some ice cream?” she asked nervously, watching his expression carefully. “There’s a shop just around the corner that has ice cream sandwiches with fresh-baked cookies.”

Before she could take back her offer, Steve’s face lit up with a smile. “Hell yeah. You had me at ice cream.”

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Why were there so many words?? This is a lot longer than I imagined it being, oops? Based loosely on actual events in my college party life, lmao. Also, let's all collectively swoon over 21yo Chris
> 
> [Check out my linktree for tumblr, discord, and other socials!](https://linktr.ee/ralsbecket)


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